


Golden Slumbers

by travels_in_time



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-10
Updated: 2010-10-10
Packaged: 2017-10-12 14:21:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/125774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/travels_in_time/pseuds/travels_in_time
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nobody's getting much sleep on board the TARDIS.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Golden Slumbers

The Doctor looked up in surprise as Jack padded down the corridor barefoot, in shorts and a t-shirt, yawning. "Bit late, isn't it?"

Jack shrugged. "Can't sleep. Thought I'd see if I could help you with anything."

He took a closer look at Jack, at the deep shadows under his eyes. "You sure? Bet I could find something to give you, put you right out..."

"No," Jack said quickly. "Thanks, but I'm fine."

"Up to you," the Doctor returned. He indicated the console. "If you like, you can have a go at this panel. Hasn't been talking to the rest of them like it should..."

It was half an hour later when Jack didn't respond to a question, and the Doctor looked over to see the human sound asleep, still holding the wrench he'd been using to try to pry off a particularly stubborn bolt. He grinned and continued working, trying to be a bit quieter now.

It became a pattern. Three or four nights a week, Jack would stumble down the hall late at night. They'd work for a while, talk for a bit, and then Jack would fall asleep. The Doctor would work quietly to the sound of Jack's rhythmic breathing. He would leave shortly before he knew Jack would be waking, and after a while Jack would join him in the kitchen, bleary-eyed and tousle-headed, and they'd argue about whose turn it was to make the coffee for breakfast. They never referred to those nights, not to Rose, not even to each other. Something about Jack's reticence made the Doctor suspect that it wasn't simple insomnia, but if Jack didn't want to talk about it, then he wasn't going to bring it up.

Then suddenly one day he realized that Jack hadn't come for several nights, and it was about that same time that he realized that both Jack and Rose were sporting those deep blue circles under their eyes, and of course it wasn't any of his business what they did with their nighttime hours instead of sleeping, was it? Which was why there was absolutely no reason to punch Jack right in the face. No reason at all.

He had to remind himself of that when Jack did appear after all, late that night, looking even worse than usual.

"I need help," he said without preamble. As the Doctor looked up, ready with some sarcastic remark, Jack continued. "It's Rose."

The Doctor carefully laid down the part he was working on. "What's wrong with her?"

Jack ran his hand through his hair, setting it on end even more crazily than before. "She's been having nightmares. I think they're getting worse. She can barely sleep at all, now."

"How long has this been going on?" The Doctor stood up, stretching, and set off down the corridors.

Jack fell into step beside him. "I'm not sure. I've only known about it for a few days. She said if I'd stay with her, she'd be all right, but every night it's worse--" He stopped, clearly wondering if he should have kept that part to himself, but the Doctor had already guessed that much, and was more worried about something else.

"Why wouldn't she tell me?" he demanded.

Jack glanced at him. "Maybe she was afraid you'd make her go home?" he suggested. "If you thought she couldn't handle it..."

The Doctor turned a scorching glare on him. "Rose would know better than that," he scoffed. "No one's responsible for their dreams."

"No, but nobody wants to admit that they can't deal with their own subconscious."

Jack's tone was still casual, but the Doctor spared him another glance, more thoughtful this time, remembering Jack's recent nocturnal activities. Maybe Rose wasn't the one afraid of being kicked off the TARDIS.

There wasn't time to follow that line of thought further, as they'd arrived at Rose's room. The door stood ajar, and they tiptoed in. Rose was curled up tightly, one arm wrapped around a pillow, murmuring something unintelligible.

"If we don't wake her up soon, she'll start screaming," Jack whispered.

The Doctor nodded, and crossed over to sit on the bed beside her. He shook her arm. "Rose."

Her eyes flew open, and she jerked upright, gasping. "What--" She saw him, and brushed her hair out of her eyes, blinking. "Doctor. What are you doing here?"

Jack came to stand on the other side of the bed. "I told him," he said apologetically. "I didn't know what else to do."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Typical. You ask one guy to sleep with you and next thing you know he's told all the other blokes he can find."

The Doctor ignored that. "Nightmares every once in a while are normal for humans, but every night is a problem. How long have you been having them?"

"Little over a week, maybe. It's fine, though, really, I just--"

"What do you dream about?"

She hesitated.

"Rose, it might be important. Just tell me."

"Losing people," she confessed. "People dying, getting killed. You. My dad. Jack." She was looking at the Doctor; she didn't see Jack's blink of surprise at that.

"Losing people," he muttered, thinking aloud. "And it was--" he paused to calculate Earth time. "Just about nine days ago when you got hit by that gas on Altus IV."

She looked puzzled. "It just knocked me out, though. It didn't give me nightmares."

"That's 'cause it wasn't meant for your physiology. If you'd been an Altusian, you'd have started having hallucinations of your worst fears. Meant for prisoners, see. Keeps them occupied and less likely to cause trouble. But since you're human, it didn't work on your conscious mind. Just sneaked in 'round the back and got you while you were sleeping."

He grinned at her, pleased with himself for figuring out the problem, and then switched his attention to Jack abruptly. "What about you, though? Yours didn't have anything to do with the gas."

"No--" Jack stopped short, glaring at him.

Rose looked up at him in surprise. "You havin' nightmares too? You never said."

"I haven't been. Not lately."

Rose made a face at him. "That's 'cause I've been keeping you up nights with mine. How d'you know they don't have anything to do with the gas?"

"I just do," he said tightly. "They go back a lot further than that. But it's fine. They don't bother me, as long as—they're fine." He looked at the Doctor, making a visible effort to change the subject. "What about Rose? Is this going to go away?"

The Doctor nodded. "It'll wear off, eventually. Took a while to get into your system, it'll take a while to get out. A few more nights, I'd say."

Rose sighed. "I dunno if I can manage a few more nights like the last ones."

He'd been thinking about that. "Since you asked Jack to stay with you, are you still having dreams about him?"

She thought about it, then shook her head. "Not nearly as much, no. Long as I know he's here…" She smiled up at him, and that locked-down expression eased as he grinned back at her.

The Doctor stood up and shucked his jacket. "All right, then. Shove over."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Sorry?"

"Shove over," he said impatiently, kicking off his shoes. "Obviously your subconscious mind knows who's near. Your dreams won't be nearly so bad if I stay close by you."

Now she had both eyebrows up. "You want to sleep in my bed."

"Well, I don't sleep that much, but yeah." He looked at her face. "What?" he said in growing indignation. "You've got room for the Captain, but you don't have room for me?"

"Oh, no, it's fine. Come right on in," Rose sighed, turning back the covers.

"Humans," he grumbled, lying down and appropriating a pillow. "You try to help them, and all they do is ask questions."

Rose lay down beside him, re-settling the covers over herself. "Time Lords. Think they know everything, order you around like nobody's business…"

"All right, if that's all settled," Jack put in. "Thanks, Doctor. Good night, Rose." He stepped back, turning towards the door.

Rose lifted her head. "Where d'you think you're going?"

"My bed," he said firmly. "I haven't been getting much sleep, and I'm dead tired. You'll be all right, the Doctor's here now."

The Doctor didn't bother to raise his head. "That'd just be swapping one problem for another," he pointed out. "If you're not here, she'll be dreaming about you. You may as well stay."

Jack hesitated. "Rose?"

She held out a hand to him. "Please, Jack. I'd feel a lot better if you did."

"Kill two birds with one stone," the Doctor suggested. "You always sleep better if you're with someone, don't you?"

He meant it to sound suggestive, and it brought a giggle from Rose, but from the look Jack threw him he knew he was right, and that was why Jack had been coming to the control room so often—Jack's nightmares, probably a legacy of whatever had been done to him by the Time Agency, didn't bother him unless he was alone.

Jack played along, though. "If you wanted us all in bed together, Doctor, all you had to do was ask," he said, winking at Rose.

The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Shut up and lie down, _Captain_."

"Yes, sir." Jack complied and turned toward Rose, who backed up to him instinctively. He put an arm around her just as instinctively, and only then glanced over at the Doctor.

The Doctor turned to face them both and smiled slightly. "All right, you two. Get some sleep, tomorrow's gonna be a busy day."

"When is it not?" Rose mumbled, her eyes already sliding shut. She reached out for him, and he put his hand into hers. "Night, Doctor. Night, Jack."

It wasn't long before both his companions were quiet. He let out a deep breath and began to relax. It would be more than two birds with one stone, if he were lucky. He'd told them he didn't need to sleep much, which was true, but humans weren't the only species who had nightmares, and he hadn't been able to sleep for a long time. Maybe what worked for the humans might work for him, at least temporarily.

Later on, the gas would work its way out of Rose's system, and she'd be back to normal. Later on, he'd see if he could help Jack get to the bottom of whatever had happened at the Agency, and maybe that would stop his nightmares. As for him…well, he'd figure that out later on, too.

He made sure they were both deeply asleep before reaching across Rose, resting a hand lightly on Jack's back and feeling the warmth of them both as he closed his eyes. There'd be time enough for later. Right now they were all here, and that was all they needed.


End file.
